The Grand Challengers Podcast Episode #33

America’s evolving stormwater management, our innate connection to water and walking your “Camino”

Guest: William F. Hunt

October 1st, 2024

Episode Teaser

Introduction

“…people, at their very evolutionary basis, relate and want to be with water…”

Bill Hunt is the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished University Professor and Extension Specialist at the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at North Caroline State University in the USA. Since falling in love with hydrology back in 1993, Bill has been instrumental and passionate in advancing America’s adoption of sustainable stormwater management and green infrastructure. He is considered by many to be the godfather of stormwater green infrastructure in the US and has helped hundreds of practitioners effectively implement and maintain practices across the globe.

On today’s show, Bill and I look at his incredible career to date, from major achievements in stormwater green infrastructure, to his interest in history and Roman engineering and our innate connection to water. We reflect on Bill’s incredible journey along what he regards as the ‘camino’ of life, the key moments that have shaped him, the power of humility and, how you can finding your passion and give back to humanity.

Biography

Dr. William (Bill) F. Hunt III is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished University Professor and Extension Specialist in North Carolina State University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Bill holds degrees in Civil Engineering (NCSU, B.S., 1994), Economics (NCSU, B.S., 1995), Biological & Agricultural Engineering (NCSU, M.S., 1997) and Agricultural & Biological Engineering, (Penn State, Ph.D., 2003).

Since 2000, Bill has assisted with the design, installation, and/or monitoring of over 150 stormwater control measures (SCMs), including bioretention, stormwater wetlands, innovative wet ponds, green roofs, permeable pavement, water harvesting/cistern systems and level spreaders. He teaches 20-25 short courses and workshops each year on stormwater design, function, and maintenance throughout North Carolina and the United States. He is one of the most published researchers on the topic of stormwater control measures and green infrastructure in the world, with many key papers in the areas of bioretention, stormwater wetlands and porous pavements.

Bill is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), where he serves on the Urban Water Resources Research Council, the LID committee, and is co-chair of the Bioretention Task Committee. He was chair of the 2nd National LID Conference held in Wilmington, NC, in March 2007 and co-chaired the same conference in Philadelphia in September 2011. He is also currently teaching courses on ancient Roman engineering, where he also brings students on field trips to Spain and Italy.

Resources Related to the Episode

  • Hurricane Season – some stats on hurricanes
    • The episode was recorded in early August 2024. At the time, Hurricane Debby was the most recent hurricane
  • We refer to Jon Hathaway (Episode 24) and Ana Deletic (Episode 9) of the show.
  • Another guest on the show, who was interested in history as well, is Anna Lintern (Episode 19).
  • The triple bottom line in sustainability: environmental, economic and social or also referred to as the 3Ps (people, planet, profit)
  • Stewardship in green infrastructure:
    • Andersson, E., Barthel, S., Borgström, S., Colding, J., Elmqvist, T., Folke, C. and Gren, Å., 2014. Reconnecting cities to the biosphere: stewardship of green infrastructure and urban ecosystem services. Ambio, 43, pp.445-453. [Link]
  • Dam breaches and Lego – I came across these videos from a YouTube Channel of dam breaches using sand and Lego, fascinating to watch
  • All about Dr. Rooney Malcolm and his legacy (especially that famous class that Bill took)
  • Dr. Wayne Skaggs
  • US History around the term ‘Extension Specialist’
  • Bill’s work on mosquitos in constructed stormwater wetlands:
    • Hunt III, W.F., Apperson, C.S., Kennedy, S.G., Harrison, B.A. and Lord, W.G., 2006. Occurrence and relative abundance of mosquitoes in stormwater retention facilities in North Carolina, USA. Water science and technology, 54(6-7), pp.315-321. [Link]
    • Hunt, W.F., Apperson, C.S. and Lord, W.G., 2005. Mosquito control for stormwater facilities. NC Cooperative Extension Service [Link]
    • Dr. Charles Apperson
  • Permeable Pavements were covered in depth in the previous episode with Luis Sanudo (Episode 32) – do check out his episode for more insights
  • What are forever chemicals? PFAS? – some details on PFAS
  • Stormwater management across the US:
  • Some of Bill’s key papers on bioretention systems:
    • Davis, A.P., Hunt, W.F., Traver, R.G. and Clar, M., 2009. Bioretention technology: Overview of current practice and future needs. Journal of environmental engineering, 135(3), pp.109-117. [Open Access Link]
    • Hunt, W.F., Jarrett, A.R., Smith, J.T. and Sharkey, L.J., 2006. Evaluating bioretention hydrology and nutrient removal at three field sites in North Carolina. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 132(6), pp.600-608. [Open Access Link]
    • Hunt, W.F., Smith, J.T., Jadlocki, S.J., Hathaway, J.M. and Eubanks, P.R., 2008. Pollutant removal and peak flow mitigation by a bioretention cell in urban Charlotte, NC. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 134(5), pp.403-408. [Open Access Link]
    • Hunt, W.F., Davis, A.P. and Traver, R.G., 2012. Meeting hydrologic and water quality goals through targeted bioretention design. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 138(6), pp.698-707. [Open Access Link]
    • Passeport, E., Hunt, W.F., Line, D.E., Smith, R.A. and Brown, R.A., 2009. Field study of the ability of two grassed bioretention cells to reduce storm-water runoff pollution. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 135(4), pp.505-510. [Open Access Link]
    • Winston, R.J., Dorsey, J.D. and Hunt, W.F., 2016. Quantifying volume reduction and peak flow mitigation for three bioretention cells in clay soils in northeast Ohio. Science of the Total Environment, 553, pp.83-95. [Open Access Link]
  • Bill Lord, with whom Bill taught many workshops in Extension
  • Bill’s recent book on Green Stormwater Infrastructure:
    • A.P. Davis, W.F. Hunt, R.G. Traver. 2022. Green Stormwater Infrastructure Fundamentals and Design. John Wiley & Sons. Hoboken, NJ. ISBN: 978-1-118-59019-5 [View on Amazon]
    • More about Alan P. Davies and Robert Traver
  • Roman infrastructure and Roman engineering:
  • The two big things to do in North Carolina
  • Jaques Yves Cousteau – “We tend to forget that the water and life cycle are one”
  • Clarification: Pluvial and Fluvial floods – here is a guide on three types of floods
  • Dr. Eban Bean – University of Florida
  • History of the US Part 2:
  • Ryan Winston, Trisha Culbertson, Matthew Jones
  • Bill was nominated for the H Rooney Malcom Award by Hunter Freeman, which he received
  • The Camino de Santiago
  • Driving your car to Alaska? In case you actually want to do it! 🙂

Episode Chapters

(Chapters are embedded in the episode for quick access, click this to expand and view all chapters and time stamps)
  • 0:00 Intro
  • 1:59 Guest Intro and Hurricane Season
  • 4:43 Our first meeting
  • 6:26 The engineering or economic studies debate
  • 12:31 Your interest as a child foretells your future
  • 18:58 What is an Extension Specialist?
  • 23:25 Humility led to insights on mosquitos in stormwater wetlands
  • 28:56 The growing to do list around water quality
  • 32:41 How diverse is stormwater management in the US?
  • 38:01 The versatility of bioretention systems
  • 42:10 Tips on maintenance of stormwater green infrastructure
  • 46:41 Bill’s PhD bioretention system after 20 years
  • 48:42 Bill’s recent book on stormwater green infrastructure
  • 51:16 From stormwater to ancient Roman water management
  • 56:43 Our connection to water
  • 1:01:22 Finding your calling
  • 1:03:58 Tackling inequalities in cities
  • 1:09:15 Q&A Start
  • 1:09:36 What inspires you?
  • 1:12:12 Key event, person, book
  • 1:14:47 If you had a magic wand?
  • 1:17:50 Biggest challenge in career to date
  • 1:26:03 Time management
  • 1:28:52 Advice for young researchers
  • 1:30:24 Where can people reach you?
  • 1:31:41 Final Message
  • 1:34:15 Outro

Connect with Bill Hunt

Related Episodes

Episode #9 – Ana Deletic
From first flush and manholes to pendulums of stormwater, engineering and life
(Related Topics: stormwater, green infrastructure, life lessons)
Episode #10 – Daniele la Cecilia
Backyard balsamic vinegar, a pizza oven and technological progress in agriculture
(Related Topics: Roman infrastructure, agriculture)
Episode #24 – Jon Hathaway
The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of green infrastructure, opening a ‘can of worms’ and gaining control of watersheds
(Related Topics: stormwater, blue-green infrastructures, bioretention, maintenance)
Episode #32 – Luis Angel Sañudo Fontaneda
Partnering with nature in Spain’s journey to Sustainable Drainage and Climate Adaptation
(Related Topics: stormwater, blue-green infrastructure)

Credits